Hope

by Sam Rook

  "I’ll send the scouts out tomorrow evening. That way, they can avoid any Daemon confrontations and more easily spot any cook fires in the villages."

  "Very well. Tomorrow evening will be sufficient. Be safe, Sir Lanclor."

  "Be safe, Lord Alextor." Alextor turned and left Lanclor's workroom without a backwards glance. There was a time when he would have stayed for a drink and a game of khlurs. Those days were long gone, fleeing with the donning of their unique armor and the memories of those they Bore. Some memories were harder than others to overcome. When you had memories of betrayal, it was difficult to remember the true man behind the armor—the man who existed in the present, not the one who existed in the past.

  Lanclor walked back to the window. Lady Kathryn still rode the mare around the track, but at a slower pace. He longed for the days when he could enjoy life as much as she did in that moment. All cares and concerns discarded as the wind flowed through her hair, the speed of her horse causing her heart to race in excitement, not a care in the world as it blurred by. He had to suppress the urge to ready Laktalin and ride beside Lady Kathryn, longing to forget the worries of this endless war. He turned away from the window with regret, seated himself once again behind his desk, and drew up the knight list for scouts to send to the outlying villages.

  Chapter 27

  With the increase in drills, Sir Lanclor and Kathryn worked out a routine to continue their search without taking time away from training. They had moved their meeting time to lunchtime and ate together in the library. Kathryn smiled when she remembered Sir Lanclor insisting that she have the same meal as he did so he wouldn't feel guilty when she ate the Meal Room food. He had his own personal cook who she had to admit far surpassed those of the Meal Room.

  They were so used to working with each other at that point that he cast the level 1 ice spell upon the water pitcher without arguing with her about it. They had a discussion during their second meal together about how water tasted so much better when it was cold. He admitted he was so used to drinking it warm that he never even thought of trying it any other way.

  As Sir Lanclor speared his chicken pieces smothered in vegetable sauce, he suddenly dropped his fork and pointed at a spell in his book—Lost Spells: Book 10. "Listen to this. The Conceal Spell: This spell bends the light around the caster, rendering him visually undetectable to those around him. This spell can be expanded like a shield spell to surround those around the caster."

  "An invisibility spell? That would be handy." That is, as long as some guy didn't decide to use it to go into a woman's bedroom or something. She wondered if Sir Lanclor was the type to use it in that way. Kathryn heard rumors that Sir Lanclor was over forty cycles old. She assumed a cycle was the same as a year, but she couldn't imagine a forty-year-old man behind his imposing black armor, so perhaps it was less than a year.

  "It would be useful, in the right hands. I worry that someone would try to use it to harm Lord Alextor. I don't know if I could risk having it become common knowledge." He looked at her, his tone asking that she not mention it to anyone.

  "I agree, but it wouldn't hurt for a select few to know it in case we need it."

  He sighed, but nodded. "You're right. I’d definitely like to have it in the battlefield." He added it to their list, and then continued to scan the book while he finished his lunch.

  She turned the page, pausing to scoop up the last of her chicken. Before her fork was halfway to her mouth, her vision blurred to a new Sight.

  Sir Lanclor strode toward her with his black armor blending with the darkness of the night, his helmet less head concealed in the shadows. He was alone in the night as he drew his sword and knelt before her. There was some type of moving blackness between them and a low wall that contained it. Water? He placed the tip of his sword on the ground and placed his hands upon the top of the pommel. He began quietly to speak to her, but she could only hear some of the words. "...sacrificed...peace...was the cost?... corruption...sadness...unbearable...go on...hope."

  When her eyes refocused on her surroundings, Sir Lanclor looked at her curiously. "Is everything all right?"

  She couldn't think of anything to say. In the Sight, he had sounded so sad, but toward the end, his voice had firmed with confidence. She felt that this was one Sight she shouldn't share with him. He might treat her differently if he thought he would someday need to kneel before her. It was just too weird. "I'm fine. I was just lost in thought is all."

  She thought he could tell she was lying, but chose to respect her privacy. "Maybe we should finish a little early today. We both could use a break from this." He rose from his seat and started to gather the lunch dishes.

  She gathered the books and replaced them on their shelves. The invisibility spell was a good find today, but wasn’t something that would turn the tides. She thought they were both frustrated. There was no order to the Lost Spell books in terms of where the more powerful spells were located. A level 75 ice spell came right before a level 20 Wind spell. It seemed like the entire search would take forever. Perhaps it was a good time to leave early.

  As they both pushed in their chairs, Sir Lanclor dropped the tray of dishes and flew backward to crash against one of the sturdy bookshelves. Something held him in the air. His feet didn't touch the ground as he clawed at the unseen hands squeezing his neck. She felt a presence similar to that from the throne room all around her, focused completely on Sir Lanclor.

  She recognized the spell from Book 49 called Focusing. It allowed the caster to focus his power on the air around a creature, using it as a weapon. It appeared the Lost Spell books also contained some Forbidden spells, something that disturbed Sir Lanclor as the books had been available to any knight.

  Kathryn froze for a few seconds, searching her brain for a useful spell. She cast a level 45 Break spell from Book 50 that would break up any spell for a short time to allow a defender time to bring up a shield. Ma’ke lene’kolar fin’a’alekai nata’lenti’fe. The words of power echoed in her mind. With her lips tight, she concentrated on annihilating the spell killing Sir Lanclor.

  As Sir Lanclor fell to the floor, she ran over to him, casting the highest-level elemental and physical shields she knew, somewhere between levels 90 and 95. Wi’nah f’enk’e’alath eath’nak’inta war’e’slenth shel’ant’re melan’ke’toh sel’anthia. Mel’ati falen’tria nal’urenth pa’lamor she’ant’re clu’bena sel’anthia. She felt more spells cast at her shields, but to no effect. The presence retreated, but she tied off her shields anyway just in case.

  Kneeling over Sir Lanclor and praying he wasn't beyond help, she assessed his condition. Mel’int ent’bel’ak. Bruises lined his throat and the attack had damaged his windpipe. He clutched his chest, each breath filled with a bubbling gurgle. The air barely traveled to his lungs and his blood clogged the passage. He wouldn’t survive long enough for Master Vetera to reach them. Kathryn did the only thing she could. She attempted a healing.

  Lak’oth ent’me’unt. Reading about healing and doing it was not the same. The scent of pine and cinnamon engulfed her before her awareness sank into him and felt his body screaming for air. She let his body's natural healing abilities guide her, accelerating the healing process and repairing his throat. The spell acted as a funnel, channeling her magical energy into his body. The bleeding stopped while whatever remained was absorbed back into his body.

  The bruises began to fade from a deep purplish blue, to green, then yellow. The air returned to his lungs and she tried to close off the flow of magic. The funnel held her, turning more into an open dam of a flowing river. Panicking, she closed off her mind from the power and was able to retreat back into her own body. The whole process took only minutes, but she felt as if she’d run a dozen marathons without a break. Like someone cutting the strings of a puppet, she collapsed.

  Chapter 28

  Lanclor could finally breathe, the air no longer painfully stuck in his throat. He opened his eyes only to see Lady Kathryn fall upon him. Confu
sed, he carefully lifted her off to the side before he remembered all that had happened. He had flown backwards, unable to breathe. Something, someone, strangled him and he remembered it suddenly stopping.

  He reached under his helmet to feel his neck. It was tender, but undamaged. Lady Kathryn must have healed him. Healing was a dangerous gift, one that could kill the user if she didn't know how to control it. It could suck the life right out of the healer and put it into the victim. She was full of surprises.

  He reached over to feel her pulse, comforted by its steady rhythm. She must have just passed out. He wasn't going to take any chances. Sitting up, he rolled onto his knees, scooped her into his arms, and stood. The shield spells around them were strong and he decided the threat had passed. The shields would dissipate from the library in a few hours, depending upon what level they were. Lady Kathryn could always return and release them. It was sometimes dangerous to release another knight’s spells, so he chose to leave them as they were. He headed for the infirmary.

  "Lak'oth ar'vat." Master Vetera, prepare a bed in the East Wing. Lady Kathryn has collapsed, but seems to be okay. As he walked out of the library, he paused at the door. "Tul’dir me’tir’fin." The Transport spell moved their notes to a safe place, out of sight.

  He had a lengthy walk ahead of him with the infirmary on the opposite side of the building. Lady Kathryn, far from a burden, probably didn’t weight half as much as the logs he often carried to and from the practice field. It was hard to believe such a small knight could have such a powerful magic ability. She began to stir. He saw the confusion in her eyes as she saw her passing surroundings and felt the motion of his steps. Embarrassment replaced the concern in her gray eyes.

  "Sir Lanclor, your neck...are you...what happened? I remember you lying on the floor, and then healing you, but nothing else." Her voice sounded faint, as if she was half-asleep.

  "Do you have any idea of the dangers of untrained healing? Of course not. You just think you can perform any spell without danger to yourself. My mother is a Master Healer and I well know the dangers of untrained healing. You could have killed yourself you know, you ignorant woman!" He kept his voice low, refusing to express his anger by raising it.

  She continued to look at him, her eyes unfocused. Anger entered her eyes and her lips curved down. "I can only learn so much, Sir Lanclor. Maybe I should take some healer training with all of my free time. You know, in between searching through hundreds of spells all week and training to defend Av’lor against Daemons. Oh, yeah, I could probably practice healing while I’m working with Artemis. Reading shouldn’t be too hard from horseback."

  He laughed at the sheer insanity of the situation as he walked down the hallway before the infirmary carrying an angry woman and arguing with her about her choosing to save his life. She looked at him, waiting for him to respond to her sarcasm. Lanclor stopped before the door to the infirmary and looked down at her.

  "Thank you for saving my life." He knew it was the last thing she expected him to say.

  The anger dissolved from her eyes. "You’re welcome, Sir Lanclor."

  Lanclor tried to decide how to open the door of the infirmary without dropping Lady Kathryn.

  Master Vetera opened the door and solved his dilemma. "Thank goodness. It took you forever to get here. What happened?"

  As Lanclor explained everything that happened, Master Vetera showed him to a bed in the back room. When Lanclor came to the part about his healing, Master Vetera turned to Lady Kathryn, now lying in the bed, and lectured her about the dangers of healing. Lady Kathryn conveniently chose that time to fall into an exhausted slumber.

  A few weeks later, a firm knock sounded upon Lanclor’s door. In the middle of paperwork, he snorted with disgust at the disturbance.

  "Enter!" he roared as he lost his place in the annual supplies report for the fifth time that day. Lady Kathryn walked into the room and almost slammed the door behind her, catching it at the last minute to slow it down. She stood in front of his desk with an air of anger emanating toward him. He could tell she tried to calm herself before she spoke.

  Lanclor was in the mood to argue. "What’s the problem, Lady Kathryn?" He feigned ignorance, trying to start a fight. Nobody had argued with him for a while and sometimes a person just needed to argue with someone. He had ordered Lady Kathryn’s commanding knight to exclude her from a Daemon battle yet again. She was too valuable in her knowledge of the Lost Spells and her Sights. Why should they risk her in battle? Or so Alextor thought. Lanclor had a feeling Lady Kathryn would answer that question for him.

  His tactics worked. She lost her temper.

  "I demand to know why I’ve been excluded from another Daemon battle, Sir. I have surpassed everyone in magic level. I’m the most powerful knight you have right now!" She seemed to reign in her temper. "I must gain battle experience or I won’t be of any use to you."

  His anger almost abated as he witnessed her courage. Few people would even consider raising their voices to him, let alone make a demand. If it had come from a male knight, he would have been furious at the insubordination. Coming from Lady Kathryn, he respected her more because of it.

  There were few women in the Knighthood, and of those women, the vast majority were just quiet, hard-working individuals who were glad just to have the opportunity to have made it as far as they had. He didn't think women weren’t capable of being knights; he had just found that not many women wanted to enter the Knighthood. The unique factor here is that no woman, and few men, actually stood up and demanded anything from her superiors if she didn’t agree with orders. They just accepted the orders and continued with their work.

  The sign of a person with leadership abilities was that person’s courage to stand up and question orders that he or she didn’t find logical. Lady Kathryn had worded her demand in a way that asked him what possible advantage her orders could give to the Knighthood. Clever.

  "What would you have me do, Lady Kathryn? Risk our only Seer and interpreter of the Lost Spells on the battlefield? You’re of more use to the Knighthood here, learning in safety." He didn’t actually believe those words, but repeated the words of Alextor. Ever since that attack in the throne room, Alextor felt responsible for Lady Kathryn’s safety. Lanclor had tried to convince him that she would object, but Alextor "knew" that she would understand and not make a fuss. He was wrong.

  "Learning in safety? If you think this is safety, then you’re an ignorant fool." His anger rose at the insult, but her anger surpassed his. "I’ve been attacked within the throne room and that’s one of the most secure rooms in this castle! How can I prevent my Sights from occurring if I simply increase my knowledge and not my experience? I’d be able to cast a spell against one Daemon, but I won’t be experienced enough to prevent the other Daemon from skewering me while I’m doing it! I’m sure this wouldn’t have happened if I were a man." She said this last sentence staring directly into his eyes with anger flaming in hers.

  Her look of accusation nearly drove him over the edge. He stood abruptly from his chair with his left fist clenched while his right hand rested upon his sword hilt as he looked down upon her. How dare she accuse him of being sexist? Would this have happened if she were a man? Would they have blemished a man’s honor just so they could keep a potential weapon alive? His realization struck him like a blow. No, they would have gladly sent that man to the battlefield, although toward the back of the fight, so he could gain the experience to become an even more powerful weapon.

  She stood defiantly in front of his desk, her eyes upraised to his, no sign of fear that he threatened her with his hand upon his sword hilt. However, the power of her physical shield spell was significant—level 15 at least—which made him realize how much she feared him. It shamed him that she feared him at all. Yet, here he was, openly threatening her when she didn’t even wear a sword. Anyone would have felt the same in that situation. How had his anger ever become so powerful it overrode his sense of honor? He removed his hand from his
sword, unclenched his other one, and walked around the desk to stand in front of her. She still held her shield spell.

  "Lady Kathryn, I apologize for my anger. You’re right and we shouldn’t keep you from the battlefield."

  She lowered her shield. "Thank you, Sir Lanclor," she said stiffly with an even stiffer salute and began to turn toward the door.

  Without thinking, he reached out and touched her shoulder to halt her turn. "I would never have hurt you, Lady Kathryn." As the words left his lips, he couldn’t believe he had actually said them. He sounded like a sentimental fool!

  She looked at him and her eyes softened. "It’s so difficult to judge a man whose face you cannot see, Sir Lanclor. Even though I raised the shield, I think I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. Be safe, Sir Lanclor." She turned to leave and he let her.

  As the door closed behind her, he responded quietly. "Be safe, my lady."

  Chapter 29

  Borith had missed his opportunity. Now Lanclor's guard would be up. Lanclor wasn't nearly as powerful as he, but that Earthling had more than enough to make up for what he lacked. He had to strike when they weren't together or take her out of the picture altogether. That bitch would be dead soon.

  A knock sounded upon his door before his master admitted himself. "You took an unnecessary risk yesterday. Not only did you fail, but you also made her realize she can counter our attacks. I told you not to do anything without my permission. I should kill you for your insubordination." His voice was deathly low, dripping with disdain. "You cannot let your personal vendetta get in the way of our goal."

  "I’m sorry, master. I just couldn’t resist." The words slid from his mouth with a bitter taste.

  "Silence! You’ll learn to control your desires or you’ll regret it. We need to get her out of the picture so we can continue. I feel that she’s a grave threat to all that we stand for. Our salvation is almost in sight. We just need to obtain the Orb from whoever has it, then we’ll have everything we need to open the Portal and claim Earth. I won’t let some incompetent apprentice ruin everything on a childish whim."